The Little Bighorn Battlefield range fire of 1983 was a significant event and, in a manner of speaking, heralded twenty-five years of archeological investigations at the battlefield. Since 1983 archeological investigations have continued, in some form through 2005. The principals involved in the archeological project, which began in earnest in May 1984, were well aware that they were part of an innovative project, yet none were fully cognizant of the wide-ranging impact the project would have on the Park Service, the disciplines of history and historic archeology, nor the international recognition of the project and its methodology.